J1nx (Peter Steenbergen) has spend a lot of time together with XBMC developers to try to bring XBMC (Linux) to ARM based set-top boxes, and initially AllWinner A10 processor seemed like a good candidate, unfortunately due to the lack of proper video engine libraries for Linux, progress on this SoC has been extremely slow. Then when Pivos and XBMC announced Pivos Xios DS set-top box based on AMLogic aml8726-M(1) would support XBMC natively, and the kernel and bootlooader (u-boot) source code was made available both on Pivos github account and AMLogic open source website, AML8726 series of processors appeared to be an ideal solution for this purpose. Instead of AML8726-M (aka AML8726-M1) which is limited to 512 MB, it was decided instead to use a faster processor AML8726-M3 that supports 1 GB RAM. The STB of choice is based on “MBX – f16ref” which should be some kind of development […]
Embest SBC8118 Single Board Computer Based on TI AM1808 Processor
Embest recently unveiled the SBC8118 Single Board Computer, an industrial grade SBC powered by Texas Instruments AM1808 ARM9 processor with 128MB Mobile DDR2 RAM and 128MB NAND Flash. The SBC8118 Single Board Computer is aimed at medical, industrial automation, control, communication, and other cost sensitive applications. As you can see from the picture above, it is comprised of a CPU board and an expansion board. Here are the specifications of the CPU board (Mini8118): Processor – 375MHz TI AM1808 ARM926EJ-S Microcontroller (also supports 456MHz operation) Memory – 128 MByte Mobile DDR2 Storage – 128 MByte NAND Flash (on the rear of the board) & 8 Mbit SPI Flash Connectors – Two 2.0mm space 3*27-pin dip connectors and the expansion board: Audio/Video Interfaces: TFT LCD interface (50-pin FPC connector, RGB565) 4 line resistive Touch Screen interface Camera interface (30-pin FPC connector, supports CCD and CMOS cameras) Data Transfer Interfaces: Serial port: […]
The Yocto Project Release 1.3
The Yocto Project Release 1.3 has just been announced. This release codenamed “Danny” and based on Poky 8.0 is the fifth release of the project. The Yocto Project is a framework to assist developers in creating embedded Linux distributions. New features and updates for the Yocto Project 1.3 Improved terminal UI, which makes it easy to see the tasks that are currently executing, and avoids burying any warnings that are printed. Eliminated intermediate step when building cross compiler toolchain Relocatable SDK Large number of usability improvements in the Hob image building UI Upgraded eglibc to version 2.16 Upgraded gcc to version 4.7 Upgraded Linux kernel version to 3.4.11 Added yocto-bsp script for automating the initial parts of creating a new BSP Python functions now consistently use four spaces for indentation – no more having to try to match the mix of tabs and spaces in your recipes Disabled sharing shared […]
Xibo Digital Signage Version 1.4.0 Released
Xibo has just announced the release of Xibo 1.4.0 (codename: “Brorsen”). Contrary to version 1.3.0 which was a development release, Xibo 1.4.0 is a stable release and you should consider updating your current installations if you want to take advantage of some of the 27 new features and/or 108 bug fixes. This version replaces the previous stable version (1.2.2) released 18 months ago. If you are not familiar with Xibo, it is an open source Client/Server digital signage framework that can run in Windows (.NET implementation) and Linux (Client: Python, Server: LAMP). For some more details, you can read my introduction to Xibo and/or a “getting started” tutorial I wrote some time ago. Main new features in Xibo 1.4.0 Significant improvements to permissions – View, Edit and Delete permissions can now be set on the following items: Library Media Layouts Regions in Layouts Media on Region Timelines DataSets Display Groups […]
$249 Samsung Exynos 5 (Cortex A15) Arndale Development Board
Samsung has announced the first Cortex A15 development board available for purchase. Like the Origen board, Arndale development board has been designed by InSignal and features a dual core Exynos 5 (5250) cortex A15 processor @ 1.7 GHz, 2 GB RAM, internal storage via eMMC and plenty of ports. The development kit is composed of a CPU module (Exynos 5 , RAM and PMC) and a baseboard. Here are Arndale development board specifications: CPU Board Exynos 5 Cortex-A15@1.7 GHz dual core 2GB 32-bit 800 MHz LPDDR3/LPDDR2 Base Board Sensors Accelerator : Invensence MPU-6050 Gyro : Invensence MPU-6050 e-Compass : AKM -AK8963C Camera Interfaces: ITU 601, MIPI CSI Video Ouput: HDMI 1.4 interface (micro HDMI) 1 channel eDP output Single WQXGA MIPI DSI interface USB: 1x USB3.0 Host 2x USB2.0 Host 1x USB 2.0 OTG SATA 1.0/2.0/3.0 interface 1 channel eMMC 4.5 1 channel SDIO 3.0 2 channel SD 2.0 (microSD slot) 4 channel […]
Linaro 12.10 Release with Linux kernel 3.6 and Android 4.1.2
Linaro release 12.10 has recently been announced, and includes Linux Kernel 3.6.1 and Android 4.1.2. This release provides further improvement to big.LITTLE architecture and Linux can boot on TC2 (A Test Chip with 2 Cortex A15 and 3 Cortex a7 cores) and an ARMv8 (Aarch64) OpenEmbedded community build is now available for download. Work has also be done on preparing demos for Linaro Connect (29 Oct – 02 Nov) in Copenhagen including a single ARM kernel booting on different boards. Here are the highlights of the release: Android Linaro Android 12.10 has been upgraded to 4.1.1_r6 and then to 4.1.2. Linaro Android builds are now shipped with improved instructions. AOSP Galaxy Nexus builds are available from http://android-build.linaro.org and include DS-5 support. Linaro Android toolchain has been updated to Linaro GCC 2012.10. Dalvik benchmarked against Hard-Float Open JDK and Java SE. Power meter improvements for LAVA automation. Prepared Connect demonstrations benchmarking […]
$132 Kingdel NC270 Thin Client Powered by Intel Atom N270
Reader onebir tipped me about a low cost Intel Atom based PC on Aliexpress with some decent specs. Kingdel NC270 PC is based on Intel Atom N270 processor @ 1.6 Ghz with 2 GB RAM and 8 GB SSD. It is capable of decoding 720p HD video and features lots of ports which could make it a good entry-level digital signage player among other things. Here are the specs of this nettop. Processor – Intel Atom n270 System Memory – 2 GB (in most places, but it’s also written 1GB in one place in the description) Storage – 8GB SSD (16GB and 320GB version is also available) Connectivity: 10/100 Ethernet WiFi (optional?) Serial Ports – female DB-25, compatible SPP, ECP and EPP | male DB-9, compatible FIFO prefix = st1 16C550 2 PS/2 port (mouse, keyboard) USB – 6 USB host 2.0 ports 1x PCI slot Video Output – VGA […]
$89 Hiapad Hi802 Android mini PC Based on Freescale i.MX6 Quad Processor
The first (single core) mini PCs showed up in May, the dual core mini PCs in August, and the first quad core mini PCs should be available in November starting with Hiapad Hi-802 HDMI TV Stick powered by Freescale i.MX6 Quad Cortex A9 processor with 1GB RAM. The specs of the device are not available publicly, but based on diverse sources (including charbax video below), it should be as follows: SoC – Freescale i.MX6Q Quad Core Cortex A9 Processor with Vivante GC2000 GPU System Memory – 1GB RAM Storage – 16? GB NAND Flash Memory + microSD card slot Video Output – HDMI Connectivity – Built-in Wifi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth USB – USB Host + USB OTG A picture of the PCB (one side only) has been uploaded by Hiapad. There are 6 through holes at the top left of the PCB which might be some debug ports (TBC […]